


Creeping Shadows

by ASamwich



Category: American Dragon: Jake Long
Genre: Gen, let dragons fight like dragons!, semi-canon violence, takes place before The Hong Kong Longs, the dragons act and fight more dragon like, why do they fight like people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASamwich/pseuds/ASamwich
Summary: Two weeks before Jake Long and his family were supposed to go to Hong Kong, mysterious shadows begin to appear, becoming more and more numerous as the day for them to leave draws near. Desperate to get the shadows- and whoever is creating them- defeated before leaving, Jake will go for any clue on whoever is the source behind the attacking creatures, unaware that his mysterious enemy is quickly closing his claws around the young dragon. And that the enemy may be more familiar than Jake thinks.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

A lithe form peeled away from the clouds, soaring silently down to the base of a looming mountain surrounded by a choking forest of pine trees. The creature’s ears twitched as it looked around with a piercing glare at its surroundings. Satisfied that she wasn’t being watched, the form slipped into a hidden entry of the mountain into a long, twisting tunnel. 

Finally, after several minutes of navigating the maze of tunnels into the mountain, the dragon entered an impossibly large cavern. At her arrival, the shadows shifted as an even larger form made itself known.

“Have they discovered anything?” the larger dragon rumbled in a commanding tone, dark red eyes glowing down at the other.

“No Master,” the smaller dragon hissed, unbothered by the commanding presence before her, “They are as oblivious as always. Every one of the fools believes the both of us dead.”

Teeth glinted from the little light that lit the room, sharp and deadly, “Good. Preparations have just finished. We are just about ready to begin.”

The smaller dragon narrowed her eyes slightly. “And you are sure that this is the best route? I still think that keeping the boy alive would be foolish. Eliminating him would give us the best vantage in taking over the rest of the mythical realm.”

A growl rose from shadows, the pleased grin turning into a dark snarl for a brief moment before aggravation turned back into amusement. “My dear, loyal servant. That is what they always expect. But killing one enemy will only cause the others to rise in anger. No, this is the best course. One that will give us a powerful weapon, and break the spirit of those who rebel against us.” The large form shifted once again, leaning out of the shadows to reveal the Dark Dragon, eyes blazing with excitement, “They will never expect the American Dragon to be their downfall.”

******

“Yo Jakey,” Trixie yelled towards the dragon as she and Spud ran up to him in a secluded section of Central Park, “You wanna tell us why we’re out here so late? Trixie needs her beauty sleep!”

“Yeah man,” Spud added with a sleepy nod, “I was just about to do my daily exfoliating. You know honey really opens the pores-” 

“Ew Spud, ain’t nobody wants to hear about that!”

Jake inclined his head in apology as he lowered himself to his human friends’ heights, “Sorry, guys, but G’ said that I need to make sure to have everything as wrapped up as possible before our trip to Hong Kong in two weeks.” 

Both of his friends brightened at the mention of their trip as Trixie snapped her fingers, “Yeah, but, ain’t Gramps having another dragon watch New York while we’re on vacation?” 

A prideful huff left Jake, chest puffing out, “Yeah, but there’s no dragon like the Am’ Drag! I’ve got a lot of things to check on and make sure they're running smooth before leaving!” His voice suddenly went down to a whisper as his head ducked back down, “Plus, Gramps said that if I do this, he'd pay for like, half of our stuff we get there.”

“We’re in!” Spud replied instantly, pumping a fist into the air, “Free things here we come!” 

Laughing at the sudden enthusiasm, Jake lifted himself into the air while tapping into his earpiece. “Alright, so we can get this over with this before it gets too late-” 

“Already late man.” 

“-I’ll take the North and East sides. Trixie, you can do the South side of the park, and Spud, you go West. Please don’t gamble with the leprechauns this time. We do not need to see you running around Central Park in a leaf skirt because you lost your clothes at poker.”

“Jake! I just blocked that from my mind!” Trixie’s voice groaned at the dragon’s chuckle. Waving to each other, the three friends split apart, Jake flying up higher over the trees to get a better view. 

There was a herd of unicorns peacefully grazing near the forest’s edge, and when Jake squinted enough, he could spot pixies flitting around a berry bush. Neither group seemed bothered by anything, so Jake turned and continued farther North, content to let the wind do much of the work as he cast his gaze around. He didn’t expect there to be much issues around right now, as the Huntsclan was gone, and Chang buried somewhere underneath a pile of rocks, all that was really of concern at the moment was a couple of spats between magical folk that could be easily solved with a little dragon fire. 

About an hour of observation, Jake decided it was just about to call it good and contact Trixie and Spud when a flicker of something caught the edge of his eye. Halting midair, Jake turned curiously towards where he had seen movement, but all he saw was a stream running between a space in the trees. It was probably nothing, but there was a tugging feeling in him called to investigate. And if G’s lessons meant anything, it was to follow his dragon instinct. 

Dropping down below the trees, Jake landed on the ground next to the stream as his nose twitched, taking in the scents around him. Nothing smelt odd either. Just the same old city air mixed in with forest and a hint of magic that was a constant in New York. Still, by the way he felt a prickle down his spine, there was something up. “Hey, yo!” Jake growled out, standing up on his hind legs to look taller, “It’s the Am’ Drag you see! Now, don’t cause any trouble and show yourself! If you do, then I might go easy on y’all.” Teeth bared in a confident grin, Jake waited a few moments for a reaction, but when there wasn’t one, he deflated slightly. 

“‘Aight,” Jake grumbled as he dropped back onto all fours, “I guess we’re playing hide ‘n’ seek then.” As the young dragon approached the line of trees cautiously, a rustle behind him caused him to jump, spinning around with a hiss. Nothing there. Again. More rustling sounded to his left, and this time, Jake turned fast enough to see a shadowy shape dart deeper into the trees. 

Pupils slitted at the sudden target escaping him, Jake coiled up to spring after the shadow when his earpiece suddenly shattered his concentration. “Jake!” Trixie’s voice shouted through the earpiece, causing Jake to flinch slightly at the volume, “Everything seems good here, how about wrapping up now?”

Jake didn’t answer for a moment, staring hard at the direction the shadow seemed to disappear to. “Jakey?” 

“... yeah. Yeah, good idea. Meet back where we started?”

“You got it baby boy.” 

“Sounds good to me bro.”

Shaking the tension off, Jake took back off into the sky, unaware of the pair of eyes that had appeared the moment he looked away watching him. 

Jake was the first to arrive back to their designated meeting spot. Not that that was much of a surprise, as he could easily cover land much faster than the other two. Trixie appeared next, looking tired, but still having a successful glint in her eyes. “No trouble in my area,” Trixie stated as she came up to Jake, leaning against the dragon’s side, “Just the same magical folk we see every time and nothing wei- oh. Oh no, now THAT is weird.”

Head turning in the direction where Trixie’s exasperation was pointed, Jake’s ears flicked up in confusion as Spud got closer, wearing… something. “Spud. _What_ are you _wearing._ ”

“Oh this?” Spud said with a lazy grin as he lifted his arms up and gave a quick spin, “This is what I won!”

“You mean to tell me you gambled with the leprechauns _again_?” Trixie exclaimed as she looked his outfit up and down with disgust, “Boy, are you sure you didn’t lose? Your outfit looks like something Rotwood would have worn to his senior prom. If it was put through a glitter machine and then barfed on by a unicorn.”

As horrible as it sounded, Jake had to agree with Trixie on this one. The outfit was _that_ ugly, and the worse part of it was that it was obviously not made with human height in mind. “Spud, you look like you’re trying to fit inside a toddler onesie.”

“Au contraire, my compandriates,” Spud replied with a wave of his finger, “ _This_ is the _ultimate_ party outfit of leprechaun kind! Very rare, and very stylish.”

“Uh-huh,” Trixie spoke in an unbelieving voice, “And where are your normal clothes?”

“Ah, well, first I wasn’t doing so well with the gambling-” 

“Spud, I thought I _told you-_ ”

“But then I started to win and got these snazzy clothes!”

Both Jake and Trixie stared pointedly at their friend before a moment before Trixie sighed, “You know what, I’m not gonna deal with this. It’s late, and I need some shut eye.” She then turned to Jake, “You mind given us a ride home Jakey?”

“Psh, no problem,” Jake said as he bent down to allow his friends up on his back, “It’s the least I can do with you guys helping me out on patrol.” Once they were situated, Jake took back off into the night sky. 

After Spud and Trixie were dropped off, Jake started back to his apartment when he spotted the odd shadow once again darting into an alleyway. With a low growl, Jake dropped down and landed close to the alleyway, transforming back into his human form. Lighting up the alleyway with his phone’s flashlight, the dragon was met with nothing. Nothing off anyways. Eyes narrowing, Jake contemplated on going down the alleyway anyways to try and find his possible ‘stalker’, but a loud yawn suddenly left him. Well, it was pretty late. He could always talk to G in the morning about it.

However, when morning came, Jake found himself following Fu through the magic marketplace while trying to balance several items that the Shar Pei had already bought. “Yo Fu!” Jake grunted as he struggled to keep up with the dog, “What is all this crap for?! I thought we were prepping for vacation, not… whatever this is all for!”

“Nah ah kid,” Fu dog replied as he checked out another stand, “These _are_ for the vacation. Just because it’s vacation doesn’t mean that we’re gonna be completely safe. The old man wants me to work on some charms, just in case something weird happens.”

Rolling his eyes, Jake was about to make a snarky comment back, but Fu had already moved on without the dragon, chatting to a street vendor. Jake wrinkled his nose. More like _flirting_ with said street vendor. He did not need to see a 300-year old Shar Pei flirt. 

Wobbling over to a wall at the edge of the market, Jake carefully placed the already bought items on the ground before slumping next to them with his back to the wall. If Foo wanted to waste his time flirting, then he could carry the rest of his merchandise. Jake was content to rest before he had to train later that day. 

Eyes closed as he began to doze, the sound of urgent and worried whispering reached Jake’s ears. Peaking one eye open, Jake mumbled, “Ear of the dragon.” Hearing now amplified, the dragon was now able to tell that the whispered conversation was being held between a centaur and goblin. A frown made its way to Jake’s face. Those two species rarely ever interacted, the two having vastly different territories and positions.

Ears twitching, Jake tuned into the whispered conversation.

_**“-they have been everywhere lately. It’s causing a lot of issues.”** _

_“It still does not mean you goblins can suddenly run amok in my herd’s territory! You should have gone to the dragons to fix the problem!”_

_**“No no. Dragons should not be involved. Seen things. Heard things. no good to come if dragons are involved. You’ve seen too. Many bad things coming.”** _

_“I… have felt the darkness. It does appear to be growing. But that just proves that the dragons need to be involved! If we do not, then what will happen?”_

_**“Not yet. Not yet. Must be sure if true.”** _

_“Do you believe it is true? That he-”_

“Hey kid!” A loud voice suddenly spoke from his other side, causing Jake to jump in alarm with a yelp and turned to see Fu standing with a large box propped on his hip, “What on earth are you doing?”

“I was just-” Jake started looking around with a furrowed brow, trying to see if he could see the centaur or goblin. They were nowhere to be seen. “Nothing. Just catching some z’s before training later. You done?”

Looking satisfied, Fu patted the box he was holding, “You betcha! Moxie over there gave me a deal on these beauties in here.”

“And what exactly are they?” Jake questioned as he gathered the other merchandise.

Fu simply shook his head at Jake as they began to head back to the subway, “That is a need to know basis. And _you_ don’t need to know.” 

“Aw Fu, that’s just mean.”

*******

Dodging another one of his grandpa’s fireballs during training, Jake decided that now was a good time to tell him what he had heard at the market. 

“And you didn’t hear anything else about what they were talking about?” Lao Shi questioned, flying up in a spiral and diving down towards his grandson.

Jake did a barrel roll, wings flaring out to catch himself as he replied, “No. I only got a little bit of their conversation. They were being super cryptic and stuff. Like they were afraid of someone hearing their conversation. It was wack.” 

“Well… as ‘wack’ as you say it is,” Lao Shi stated, “The magical world deals with many mysteries and, yes, wack, things. This could be nothing as much as it is something.” The old dragon landed on the rooftop below, Jake following his lead. “But if you believe that what they are talking about could be trouble, then I will trust your judgment. We will keep open eyes and ears out for whatever the centaur and goblin have been talking about,” Lao Shi transformed back into his human self and folded his hands into his sleeves, looking deep in thought.

“G?” Jake questioned, transforming back to his human form as well, “Is something wrong?”

“...no,” Lao Shi sighed after a moment, “Not at the moment. Come, we should be getting you back at your parents house before it gets dark.” 

Jake’s grandfather ended up walking him halfway when he suddenly got a call, the calm expression on Lao Shi’s face suddenly growing stormy with whatever was said by the other on the phone. “Do _not_ do _anything_ till I get there!” Lao Shi ordered before hanging up and letting out a couple aggravated Chinese swears as Jake looked at him curiously.

“What’s up G? Some kind of magical trouble?” Jake grinned toothily, “I could take care of it real quick! Little bit of dragon power and-”

“No,” Lao Shi interrupted, holding up a palm, “Fu dog simply made a _mistake_ at the store that requires my attention. You need to get home, so let us hurry.”

Seeing the annoyance coming off his Grandpa, Jake gave a shake of his head, “You can head back to the shop Gramps. We’re not too far from my place, I can walk back by myself the rest of the way.” When Lao Shi squinted at him with an unsure expression, Jake added casually, “Unless, you think Fu _wouldn’t_ make a bigger mess by the time it took to get to my house and then back to the shop."

With that statement, Lao Shi’s eyes widened in slight panic, “Fine. But go straight home! No detours!”

“Don’t worry G!” Jake said with a dismissive wave as he and his grandpa parted ways. Jeez, you’d think the old man didn’t have _any_ faith in him! It wasn’t even dark yet, and Jake could handle himself just fine. 

There were no issues for Jake at all as he continued his walk back to his house, the warm summer air coupled with the low hum of New York making it an enjoyable one. He could see his house in the distance as he idly made his way down the sidewalk, but froze when a suddenly chill brushed against his legs. Turning, Jake was met with an empty alleyway, already dark with the shadows of the buildings and the disappearing sunset. The cool chill seemed to flow out of said alleyway, causing Jake to shiver as he took a half step back. There is no way that an alleyway should be that cold, especially in the summer, in the middle of New York. There was something fishy about it, and it would be un-am drag like not to check it out.

Shaking off the goose bumps that had formed on his skin, Jake slipped into the alleyway, dragon senses allowing him full view of the dark alleyway and anything that could be in it. But he didn’t see anything, and the only thing he could smell was the rotten smell of trash. Moving further in for investigation, Jake’s ears twitched as he listened for anything that might be moving around in the dark that he couldn’t see. For a moment, there was no noise that was out of place, but as he strained his hearing, there was the soft sound of something shuffling… behind him!

Jake ducked and leapt forward as something suddenly swept the place he had been a moment ago, the breeze from the force ruffling his hair as he spun around, fists up and ready to fight. Standing before him was some sort of shadow creature, it’s tall form swaying slightly as it’s ember-like eyes glared at him. A hiss left it as it flexed it’s claws, obviously peeved that it’s target had dodged it’s attack. Jake hissed back, baring his fangs but not turning into dragon form just yet. Was this what had been following him yesterday? 

While the shadow was obviously an enemy, he didn’t feel safe turning into a dragon when someone could walk past the alleyway at any minute. He would rather be caught breathing fire as a human rather than caught breathing fire as a dragon. Chili peppers were always a good excuse.

The shadow darted forward, claws slashing at Jake in another attempt to rip into the disguised dragon. Jake jerked back in surprise at the speed, arms lifted up in an x over his face. A sharp sting burned against Jake’s right arm as one claw was able to nick him. “Ow!” Jake yelped at the pain, more annoyed than hurt as he glared at the swaying shadow as he shook the sting off his arm. 

“Alright then,” Jake growled, facing his opponent, “You asked for it!” Allowing his fire to build up for just a moment, Jake let out a burst of flames right at the shadow creature. The creature shrieked before the flames even hit it, the brightness alone causing it agony. By the time the flames died down, there was no sight of the shadow creature. 

“Aw yeah!” Jake cheered to himself, feeling smug about taking down the creature in just his human form. Take that Gramps! He could totally take care of himself! His triumph was cut short as his phone suddenly started buzzing in his pocket. Taking it out, Jake let out a yelped, “Shoot!” when he realized the caller was Grandpa. Hurrying out of the alleyway and towards his house, Jake answered the phone as he continued walking.

“Yeah, yeah G. I’m almost home! No, I didn’t take any detours! You have _got_ to more faith in me-”

As Jake got further away from the alleyway, the colder it became as several pairs of eyes appeared in the growing gloom, each glaring intently at the retreating back of the american dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

“YOU _WHAT?!_ ” the outraged cry of his grandpa made Jake flinch back slightly, the volume of said cry amplified to a painful degree with his dragon hearing. Jake had told him about his shadow encounter the next day at the shop, which is why he was now facing a livid mentor, smoke steaming from the old man’s mouth.

“Relax G!” Jake said, holding up his hands in an attempt to calm things down, “The Am Drag can handle one little shadow! A lil’ bit of dragon fire and boom! That little wisp was history!”

Lao Shi dragged a slow hand down his face, eyes facing upward for a moment as he gathered his wits to deal with his grandson, who did not seem to realize why Lao Shi was angry. “Jake,” Lao Shi began, letting out a slow breath, “You should have told me right away that you were attacked. In fact, you should not have gone in the alleyway in the first place.”

A loud thunk in the back cut into the conversation, and they turned to see Fu trudge back in with a large book as he dropped it with a thud onto the table Jake was sitting at. “Alright kiddo,” Fu snorted through the dust that had been kicked up, “We’ve got good news and bad news.” Thumbing through the book until he landed on a page which revealed several illustrations similar to the one Jake had seen. Tapping a paw against the page, Fu looked up at the two dragons with a frown, “Good news is that these things are like, level 1 summoning creatures. Easy to summon, easy to defeat. Bad news- practically anyone with magic is capable of summoning these kinds of shadows. So we have no clue on who could have summoned that shadow, or why it was after Jake.”

“Psh, they’re after me cause I’m the Am Drag yo,” Jake said with a scoff, “And they are gonna regret even trying to mess with me when I find them!” He paused, tilting his head slightly while giving Fu dog a careful look, “You _can_ find them, right Fu?”

“Eh, well kid,” Fu began hesitantly as he rubbed the back of his head, “These shadow summons are popular for another reason. Unless you can catch one, and have the proper ingredients, you’re flat out of luck trying to track down the summoner. And even that’s a stretch.”

Silence descended over the three. There was a mortifying thought that passed through Jake’s mind that he knew that the Dark Dragon had used shadows anytime Jake had fought him a number of, like, two times… but the Dark Dragon was gone and Fu _did_ say that literally _anyone_ who could do magic could summon shadows. Plus, the American Dragon had tons of enemies! Which... was not really something to brag about.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jake spoke up, “Well, whoever it is, they’re either weak or a coward to hide behind some dumb little shadows.”

“Don’t be so dismissive of your opponents young dragon,” Lao Shi reminded Jake as he stood up and brushed off his robe before gesturing to Fu dog, “Do you have anything that would be able to contain one of these shadow summons?”

“Hm, maybe,” Fu said thoughtfully as he got up to follow the old dragon to the back of the shop, “If not, there’s probably something I can snag at the market.”

“Wait! What about me?” Jake called out to the retreating figures, “What should I be doing?”

Turning back to look at his grandson, Lao Shi instructed, “You, Jake, will be keeping an eye out. If more shadows show up, we need to be aware of how many and,” a smile appeared on the old dragon’s face, “You need to be getting ready for our trip to Hong Kong.”

***** 

The shadow let out a wail as Jake’s teeth snapped down on it, dissolving into nothing as the dragon let out a frustrated growl. “Aw man,” Jake whined as he attempted to spit out non-existent shadow remains. It had been part of a much larger group that had jumped him and Fu dog while they were patrolling a part of magical New York.

“Aaaand that’s… 47,” Fu’s voice spoke up as he popped out from behind the rock he was hiding behind, clipboard in paw as he marked another tally, “Kid, we’re trying to catch one of these things, not chomp them into oblivion!”

“ _You_ try and catch them then!” Jake sniped back while pointing a claw over at the shar pei, “These things are literally made out of shadows! How on earth am I supposed to catch one?!”

Fu produced a small glass bottle with a corkscrew out of his folds, “With this- which you would have had if you hadn’t rushed ahead hot shot. Trixie and Spud have their own jars, hopefully having more luck than you.”

“Whatev’s,” Jake muttered as he took the bottle from Fu, carefully holding it in his claws as he brought it up to eye view. It didn’t look like a magical item capable of holding a shadow. To him, it looked like a normal, glass bottle. “You sure we can catch one of these things in a bottle?” 

“That’s the idea,” Fu said with a nod, taking another bottle into his paw and bouncing it up and down, “Just pop open the cork and point it toward the shadow. It should suck it up just like a vacuum. Bada bing bada boom, we have ourselves a shadow!” 

“Huh,” Jake mumbled, transforming back into his human form before checking his phone, “Well, either way, it doesn’t look like Trixie or Spud have had any luck either. I don’t think Spud is even aware of what we’re supposed to be doing anymore. I just got a picture of him running away from some pigeons.”

At least Trixie was attempting to try, but she was having just as hard of a time as Jake was, even with the bottle. Her text said that every time she tried to catch one of the shadows into the bottle, they would straight up evaporate as soon as she turned the bottle towards them. Sighing, Jake flipped his phone closed and slipped it back into his pocket, “Alright Fu, where are we headed next?”

The shar pei flipped through the papers on his clipboard, looking through their schedule. They were, in fact, not shadow hunting, but rather doing a city wide sweep a week before leaving for Hong Kong. It was something that was endorsed by the Dragon Council, that whenever a dragon was to leave their territory to another- even for a limited amount of time- they must make sure that everything is as settled as it can be beforehand. Shadow hunting was more like a very important side quest that needed to be finished just as quickly. “Let’s see,” Fu mumbled, eyes skimming down the list, “Looks like you need to go check out the centaur herds next, make sure they aren’t squabbling over territory and such.”

 _Centaurs…_ Jake squinted his eyes, trying to remember why centaurs were important at the moment. _Centaurs… territory… GOBLINS!_ Eyes wide as he suddenly remembered the conversation he had overheard at the market a week back, Jake pulled his phone out and quickly called Lao Shi.

 _“Jake, is something the matter?”_ Lao Shi’s voice spoke as soon as he answered.

“No, I just realized something,” Jake replied back, holding a palm up to Fu when the dog tried to interrupt, “Do you remember when I told you about that conversation I overheard at the magic market? The one between the centaur and the goblin?”

_“I seem to recall our conversation about it.”_

“Yeah, so I just realized; what if whatever those two had been acting all mysterious-like about has to do with the shadows? They were obviously spooked about something, and were talking about darkness ‘n stuff.”

_“You may be on to something, young dragon. Go with Fu to the centaur herds, and see what you can learn from them. Remember, centaurs, while wise, are temperamental. Do your best to not aggravate them.”_

“Psh, who do you think you’re talking to G? I am the best at smooth talking.” Silence met Jake and he sighed, “Alright, alright. I’ll do my best not to heat them up. Heh, get it? _Heat up-_ ” 

_“I understand perfectly well Jake. Tread carefully.”_

At that, Lao Shi hung up. Jake stuck his tongue out at his phone before looking over at Fu, “You thought that was funny Fu, right?”

The shar pei turned his nose up at Jake, “I’ll only find your jokes funny when you laugh at mine. Now come on kid, let’s go talk to some centaurs.”

Rolling his eyes, Jake transformed back into a dragon and allowed Fu dog to scramble up onto his back before taking off. As he flew towards where the closest centaur herd resided, Jake asked, “So, uh, any advice about how I should approach this?"

“That’s all on you kid,” Fu replied as he clung to the dragon’s neck, “Just remember; centaurs are basically horses with human brains.” The shar pei’s eyebrows scrunched together, “Or uh, maybe humans with the brain of a horse, or maybe- eh forget it. Listen, all you need to know is that centaurs startle easy, and are easy to aggravate. So no showing off! Just ask your questions and then we’ll split.”

“Great,” Jake groaned sarcastically, “Very helpful Fu.”

As they approached the centaur’s forest, Jake began a slow descent down, planning to land just outside of the forest and walk in. Somehow, he knew that the centaurs might not appreciate a dragon, even the american dragon, suddenly dropping down in the middle of their forest. As he got closer, the spiked hair along Jake’s back suddenly stood on end, and the dragon did a sudden barrel roll, narrowly avoiding an arrow shot from the forest. 

“Hey!” Jake let out an offended yelp as he righted himself, feeling Fu dog’s paws scramble against his scales to stay on the dragon, “What the heck was that for?!”

“Centaurs are very territorial kid!” Fu’s voice spoke up right next to Jake’s ear as the shar pei clung to his neck, “They see anything remotely threatening approaching their territory, and they’re gonna shoot at it! Yes, even the American Dragon.”

Dodging another arrow, Jake let out a growl of frustration, “And why didn’t you tell me that before?! How am I supposed to get close enough to talk to them if I’m full of arrows?”

“Beats me.”

Rolling his eyes once again, Jake scanned the area while avoiding arrows shot his way. About 15 feet from the forest stood a pile of boulders, standing just a little over Jake’s height. “Alright Fu, hold on tight, I’m going down!”

“Wait, going down to wha-” Fu’s question was cut as he let out a shriek as Jake suddenly dove down, aiming right for the boulder formation. Ignoring the shar pei’s panicked yelling, the dragon swerved to avoid the arrows, feeling one skim across the scales on his shoulder before landing heavily on the ground behind the boulders. Arrows shot his way now bounced off the boulders, the two of them hidden safely behind.

Letting out a groan, Fu slid from Jake’s back onto the ground with a thud, gripping his stomach. “Next time, give a dog a little more warning. I think I lost my stomach back there!”

Ignoring Fu, Jake carefully peered out from behind the boulders, eyes narrowed as a singular centaur emerged from the forest, bow and arrow at the ready. They approached where the dragon was hidden, tense as their bow string. “Come out now dragon! Least I put an arrow through you!”

“You already tried to!” Jake yelled back, “I’m just here to talk yo!”

From his position, Jake saw the centaur hesitate at that, considering their weapons before looking back at the boulder formation. “Fine,” the centaur decided, putting their arrow back in their quiver before slinging their bow back in place on their back, “I will not shoot unless you try anything I find suspicious.”

While it sounded a little sketchy, that was an improvement from getting arrows shot at him. Jake slowly slid out of the shelter of the boulders, and carefully approached the centaur, ready to let out a blast of dragon fire if even one arrow was shot his way. However, at the appearance of Jake, the centaur’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The American Dragon? I… did not realize it was you,” the centaur said in a slightly apologetic voice once Jake stopped a couple feet from them, “I apologies for the rudeness.”

That confused Jake even more, “Wh- wait, you saw a dragon in the sky and just decided to start shooting at it then? Why?”

Looking around as if someone might be listening in to their conversation, the centaur leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, “Many things are happening at the moment. We have all been on edge, and we have seen many… things around here lately. It has made us… uncomfortable, and when I saw you getting close to our territory, I instinctively went on the offense.”

“Does any of this have to do with shadows?” Jake asked, and seeing the centaur’s shock, elaborated, “I overheard a conversation between what sounded like a centaur and a goblin at the market. I only heard a small bit, but they mentioned something about darkness. Not long after, I’ve had to start kicking some serious shadow butt.”

The centaur sat up straighter at Jake’s explanation, their front hoof pawing at the ground slightly as they replied, “That was most likely my brother that you overheard. He has had to deal with a goblin tribe invading his territory for the past month. And now other goblin tribes are starting to move into my herd’s territory as well. Not maliciously- for once- but rather because they are fleeing something from the mountains. They are rather… difficult to get information from, but yes, I do believe it has something to do with the shadows. They are becoming more numerous by the day.”

Taking a moment to soak in the information he had just been given, Jake titled his head eastward, where he knew the closest mountain ranges were. “Would it be possible that who ever is summoning the shadows is currently at the goblins’ mountains, and that’s why they’re here now?”

“That could be likely,” the centaur acknowledged as they looked in the same direction as the dragon, “Goblins are cowardly creatures, and if it wasn’t something a group of them could take down, then they would much rather invade other territories than keep fighting for their own.” A sigh left the centaur as they looked back at Jake, “I- as well as the other centaurs- would greatly appreciate it if the American Dragon would do something about it. If the goblins do not get out of our land soon,” the centaur’s eyes narrowed and they stomped a hoof hard on the ground, “There will be war on them- no matter their reasons for why they have come from the mountains.”

“Whoa! Hold on, geez, there’s no need to go to war!’ Jake balked as he lifted his claws and gave a ‘hold on’ movement, “You can count on the Am Drag to take care of this little problem! Give me, like, a day or two. I’ll go up to the mountain, kick the butt of whoever is summoning these shadows and the goblins can go back without there _ever_ being a need to start fighting!”

“We will hold you to it then,” the centaur said with a grave nod, and turned to head back into the forest. They paused for a moment, and looked back at Jake with a frown. “Be warned, American Dragon. My brother and the goblins are hiding things, things that I cannot figure out. Keep your wits to yourself, and watch the shadows closely. These days, they seem to be watching everything. Do not let them catch you unaware.” With that, they turned and trotted back into the forest, quickly disappearing into the trees.

“Well that ain’t ominous at all,” Fu’s sarcastic voice spoke up next to Jake, causing the dragon to jump in surprise with a hiss, “What? It is!”

“I _know_ Fu, but that’s the best lead we have,” Jake grunted, leaning down to let the shar pei climb onto his back, “I’ll talk to grandpa about it after patrol. It’s too late to go to the mountains tonight anyways.”

“And if it wasn’t too late?” Fu questioned once had situated himself and they were back into the air. Jake simply looked back at Fu with a gleam in his eyes, causing the dog to let out an annoyed groan as they continued onward.


	3. Chapter 3

Wind rushed underneath Jake’s wings as he flew towards the goblins’ mountains, his grandpa right behind him. The two dragons had decided to check out the mountains early next morning after Jake had gotten back from patrol and had rehashed his conversation with the centaur to the old dragon. Since there were only six days left till they left for Hong Kong, the two decided that getting to the bottom of the summoned shadows was top priority now, especially with the ominous warnings sent Jake’s way. 

The warnings were not the only thing bothering Jake. After he had talked to Lao Shi, the old dragon had been very quiet afterwards, only telling Jake that they would go search the mountains early the next morning, and then sent Jake home. Even now, the chinese dragon had remained mostly silent throughout their entire flight. It was starting to make the younger dragon nervous. 

Soon, they arrived at the mountains and landed quietly on a patch bare of the trees that coated most of the mountain range, practically hiding anything here from the view above. It was cooler right now, being up in the mountains so early, even in the summer. It was enough to cause Jake to curl in on himself more, drawing warmth from his inner fire as he looked over at his grandpa, who was silently observing their surroundings with critical eyes. 

Finally Lao Shi spoke, “I do not like the aura of these mountains. There is something worse here. The goblins were wise to run.”

“But we’re still going to find who’s behind this, and beat them? Right?” Jake stated, even though his words petered off into a question in the end. Lao Shi turned to Jake, silent once again as he observed his grandson. While the young dragon was powerful, there were many things still stronger than the American Dragon, and Lao Shi feared this may be one of them.

“No,” Lao Shi shook his head in decision, “There is something very wrong with these mountains. I must seek the guidance of the dragon council before proceeding with hunting down whoever is responsible for the shadows and the goblins retreat.” 

“Wait!” Jake exclaimed in surprise, taking a step backwards, “We flew all this way here and you’re saying we’re _not_ checking things out? Like, _at all?!_ ”

“That is correct,” Lao Shi said with a nod, “Now, listen to your dragon master. We are going home. Now.” Saying that, the old dragon took off into the air, and after a hesitant look back at the mountains, Jake followed after him. It felt wrong to be flying away from the mountain. Like they were running away instead of facing the summoner of the shadows like they were supposed to do. Part of Jake wanted to turn back around, even without his grandpa, and lay the smack down on the mountain stealer, but Lao Shi had been very firm in his words about leaving.

As soon as they got back to the shop, Lao Shi and Fu dog had gone to the back, telling Jake to stay up in the front, and stayed back there for several minutes discussing… something. Jake knew that it was about the mountains, but when he tried using his dragon hearing to listen in, he was met with nothing but the faint buzz of magic. Either Fu or grandpa had put up some magic barrier to stop anyone from listening- specifically Jake. Which frustrated the american dragon to no end as he had to sit and wait for grandpa and Fu to come out and share what they were talking about. If they even planned to do that.

Finally, the two walked back into the main area of the shop, Fu looking uncharacteristically serious while Gramps had a thoughtful look on his face, less grave looking when they had been flying away from the mountain, but still more serious than the young dragon was used to.

“So, uh, what’s up?” Jake asked as he made his way over to them, putting on what he hoped was a cocky smile as he smacked a fist against his palm, “We ready to go back and show that summoner who’s boss?”

“No young dragon,” Lao Shi said as he held up a palm to halt the other’s words, “Fu dog and I will be going to Dragon Isle effective immediately, while you, Jake, will be going back home. I wish to speak to the dragon council, but it will not be long. Most likely we will be back by tomorrow afternoon.”

Something didn’t seem right. “And _then_ we’ll be going back to the mountains? I kinda promised a centaur I would, and I don’t want to deal with a war just because we wimped out!”

“We shall see,” Lao Shi said after a beat of hesitation, “For now, stay out of trouble.” With that, the old dragon and Fu left the shop. Jake watched quietly from the window, his eyes narrowed in deep thought as he watched his grandpa disappear from view. Five minutes after, Jake pulled out his phone and texted Trixie and Spud.

_**AmDrag: G is acting weird. Just left for Drag Isl. Meet at shop in 30 min.** _

Getting confirmations from his friends, Jake slunk to the back of the shop, hoping to find something that Fu might have left behind to give him some sort of clue on why Gramps flipped the way he did. Unfortunately, there didn’t really seem to be anything that gave the dragon any hints of why they left the mountain. Leaning back slightly while scanning the room, a heavy sigh- along with a wisp of dragon fire- left Jake as he scratched the back of his head in frustration. Even when dealing with the huntsclan, Grandpa had allowed Jake to go for it, and didn’t shy away from the idea of having the younger dragon fight. So whatever it was that spooked Lao Shi, it must have been bad. Which only means that Jake needed to take it out before G got back the next day.

“Yo Jake! You in here?” Trixie’s voice called out, accompanied by the chime of the bell as the door opened. 

Not bothering to go back to the front, Jake yelled back, “I’m back here!”

The two entered the back to see Jake in dragon form, sniffing idly around at the ingredients that Fu kept stock, pausing thoughtfully at a couple before moving on.

“So uh.. Jake? You gonna fill us in on why Gramps is acting wack?” Trixie asked as she and Spud plopped down at the table to watch the dragon shuffling around.

Briefly looking over at his friends before going back to his searching, Jake replied, “Gramps and I went to the mountain to find out whatever it is that’s summoning the shadows and scaring all the goblins, but get this- as soon as we get there G suddenly acts all shifty and decides that we need to leave without even encountering anything! And then he says he needs to go to Dragon Island and just leaves with Fu! Doesn’t that reek suspicion to you guys? I think we should go check it out ourselves.”

It was Spud who answered with a shrug of his shoulders, “I dunno Jake. If _Gramps_ was spooked, then maybe we should, like, wait for him to get back? He’s old and wise, so he should know what he’s doing.”

“Spud’s right,” Trixie added on as she leaned forward and poked Jake’s scaly side, “We don’t _always_ have to go into the middle of things. Maybe this time, we should just listen to your grandpa and wait for him to get back.”

Ears drooping at his friends words- even though a small part of him knew they were right and that they should wait- Jake turned his full attention to them while subtly jutting out his lower jaw in a pout, “But guys, grandpa has been looking forward to this vacation for _months_. All of this weirdness is going to wear him down and ruin it unless-” he leaned forward, gaze intense, “-we fix it before he gets back. We’ve fought the Huntsclan _and_ the Dark Dragon! And won!” 

_Not without consequences,_ an even smaller part of him whispered, the thought of Rose flashing through Jake’s mind before he gave his head a brief shake. “We can handle some small time trouble maker! Plus, if all they’re doing is summoning shadows, then they can’t be that strong, or else we’d have been dealing with something stronger sooner.” 

The two friends seemed to consider Jake’s words as they glanced at each other, a small flash of defeat crossing their faces before it was replaced with determination as they turned back to face the dragon. “Alright Jakey,” Trixie said with a lopsided grin, “We’re with you on this. But if Gramps tries to get us in trouble with us doing this, I won’t hesitate to point fingers.”

A rumbled huff of laughter left Jake as he pulled his head back, “Thanks guys.” With his friends now on his side, Jake pulled out what he had been looking for on Fu’s magic mojo shelf and handed it off to his friends. “This stuff should help us take down the summoner. Fu thinks I don’t pay attention to stuff when he talks-” two sets of eyebrows raised at that, “-okay, I pay attention to like, 50% of what Fu says. But it’s enough to know how most of his stuff works. And this stuff is more than enough to lay some serious smack down!” 

Now that his friends were on board with his plan, they laid low at the shop for most of the day, waiting until it was close to sundown for the darkness to cover the dragon carrying his two friends over the city. Spud and Trixie, now decked out in whatever caught their eye that they thought would be useful- and maybe not so useful- in the upcoming fight with the shadow summoner, clung to Jake’s scales as the dragon flew at a steady pace towards the goblins’ mountains that he and Lao Shi had been at that very morning. 

Landing in the same spot, Jake allowed his two friends to slide off his back while he carefully observed the area around him. Nothing seemed different from before, if only being a touch cooler than it had been in the morning. There wasn’t any clue as to what had freaked Gramps out enough to send him hurrying to the dragon council. 

“You sure this is where we’re supposed to be?” Trixie’s voice cut through Jake’s thoughts as she looked around with a critical expression on her face, hands planted firmly on her hips, “It doesn’t _look_ like a goblin city. All I see are trees, and more trees! Shouldn’t they have apartment complexes or something? I can’t imagine sleeping in the dirt every night!”

“Or maybe they have some sort of invisibility cloak!” Spud added on excitedly as he moved forward with spread out hands, attempting to ‘make contact’ with the ‘invisible’ goblin city. Jake had to wrap his tail around his friend’s waist when Spud tripped on a root from his attempt so he wouldn’t faceplant into the ground.

“No, uh, they live in caves,” Jake corrected with a shake of his head as he pointed a claw in the direction of where the mountain sloped upwards, it’s side mostly hidden by pine trees. “Remember that one time with the gold? It’s pretty much the same, just with less… booby traps.” 

“Lead the way then.” 

The three friends trailed through the thick pine forest, Jake taking the lead while Trixie and Spud stuck close to his side, eyes peeled out for any suspicious looking shadows among the shadows that the trees were casting from the diminishing light of the sun. By the time they came upon the entrance of the goblin caves, it was dark enough that the two humans had pulled out and turned on their flashlights to allow themselves to see where they were going. 

Craning their necks up at the entrance, it was noted that the gaping maw of the cave was several times bigger than Jake was, the light from Spud and Trixie’s flashlights swallowed up in the looming darkness. Taking a step forward to enter into the cave, a low screeching noise suddenly rushed out, brushing against the trio like a harsh breeze and freezing them in their tracks. Jake felt his scales bristle and teeth bare slightly at the feeling as Spud and Trixie pressed close to the dragon’s sides in a form of protecting themselves from the shivers they felt race along their skin.

“Jakey, you _sure_ you want to go in there?” Trixie spoke up after a moment of silence, voice cracking slightly, “Cause I wouldn’t mind backing out. Save it for another day, ya’ know?” Spud was quick to murmur his agreement with the girl, staring with wide eyes at the cave.

Swallowing harshly, Jake forced himself not to do a full body shake, if only not to upset his friends' positions, “We can’t back down now guys! Gramps is… well, he’s not counting on us. It’s our duty as protectors of New York!” Seeing that his words didn’t seem to dampen their nerves, Jake let out a low hum, “Well, I guess it’s really _my_ duty as the American Dragon. If you guys want, you can stay out here, and wait for me. I’ll check out the cave, and take down any bad guy that gets in my way, and come right back out.”

“Uh, no!” “No way man!” Both Trixie and Spud yelled up at the dragon at the same time.

“One,” Trixie hissed as she took a step away from Jake’s side and pointed a finger up at him, “You _are not_ leaving us on the side of this cold, dark mountain. Two, we are your _friends_. It doesn’t matter how spooky this cave is, or what we might find in there, we are sticking with you!” 

Spud grinned as he leaned closer against Jake’s side and patted his scales, “Plus, we’re safer having a big, mean fire breathing dragon on our side. No ghost or shadow would dare try and possess us!” 

_“Possess?!”_

“I doubt there would be any possession going on,” Jake grumbled, even though he couldn’t stop the grin on his face, “But thanks. I feel better not being alone going in there. Not that I was _scared_ or anything.” The dragon puffed himself up slightly, trying to school his expression into one of indifference as he casually looked over his claws. It was obvious that neither of his friends believed him, but being the wonderful friends they were, decidedly ignored his bluff as the trio shuffled slowly into the cave close together.

The flashlights allowed them to see several feet in front of them once they were in before being swallowed up by the darkness, Jake’s dragon vision only adding on a couple more feet to that. It was enough, however, for the trio to not trip or fall off any unsuspecting drops. The further they went, the colder it got. The chill reminded Jake of the chill he felt whenever he was near the summoned shadows, but despite having traveled fairly far into the caves, they had yet to see a single shadow that wasn’t just a shadow. It was strange, but not enough to turn back around. Besides, there was a chance this might not be the main cave the goblins inhabited. If Jake had to guess, there was probably a bunch branching off from the one they were in right now.

“Sense anything Jake?” Trixie asked softly, her voice echoing slightly in the dark and seemingly empty cave.

Nose twitching as he looked around, Jake grunted, “Nothing. I can smell goblin, but it’s too faded to be any use. From how faint it is, I doubt there’s been a single goblin in this cave for weeks. _Months_ even. I don’t know how Gramps and I missed-” Jake froze suddenly, something deep within him, feral and snarling, rose up and bared its fangs in warning. Spud and Trixie said nothing as Jake’s eyes slitted into thin lines, nostrils flaring as he looked intensely around at the darkness of the cave, searching for what had caused his chi to react so violently. They had seen Jake react like this only a couple times, but knew that right now they were not dealing with Jake, the American Dragon, protector of New York, but rather, a dangerous, fire-breathing dragon.

A tunnel to the far right caught Jake’s attention,his instincts a jumbled mess of wanting to run straight out of the cave and fly away, never looking back, while also wanting to surge ahead into the tunnel and seek out who had dared to invade so close to his territory. It was only when Jake felt hands press against his shoulders on either side that made him blink rapidly while inhaling deeply, coming back to himself as his head cleared. Looking down, Jake saw Spud and Trixie squinting up at him cautiously. “I’m- I’m okay now,” Jake breathed out, giving his head a shake, “My chi just went wack for a moment.”

“You sure you’re good Jake?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,” Jake said with an attempted confident nod, turning his attention back to the tunnel. “Whatever is summoning those shadows is somewhere beyond that tunnel. I can feel it.”

“If you’re sure bro,” Spud hummed out, peering into the dark, “We gonna go then?”

“We have to,” Jake responded back as he forced himself to move forward, keeping his head lowered as he slinked into the tunnel, thankful for the light emitting from his friends’ flashlights. While dragon vision allowed him to see further than the light emitted from the flashlights, it didn’t hold the same comfort as the artificial light did. The tunnel stretched on for several minutes, the whole area silent except for the soft footfalls of the trio. It also continued to get colder the further they went. Trixie and Spud were shivering, and Jake was tempted to have them turn back around- because while his inner fire kept him warm, he did not want his friends to end up getting colds right before vacation- when the tunnel abruptly ended, opening up to an impossibly huge cavern.

“Oh so _that’s_ where their apartment complexes are,” Trixie’s voice piped up, making Jake jump slightly. Before them in the cavern, from what the flashlights would allow them to see, was stacked house-looking things clinging to the sides and scattered on the ground. Apparently, they had stumbled upon one of the main goblin villages. The stench itself- no matter how faded it was- proved it. 

“They look kinda cute,” Spud chirped as his flashlight moved along the houses, “Like squishy little mushrooms that got stepped on and covered in mud.”

Letting out a distracted hum at both of his friend’s remarks, Jake stretched his neck upward, sniffing deeply- despite the awful stench of goblin that permeated his nose- to try to see if there was anything else he could pick up. There was… something, but the goblin smell covered it too much for Jake to figure out what it was. Still, there was something off about this cavern. He had a guess that this feeling was what had driven both the goblins and his grandpa away from the mountains in the first place.

Narrowing his eyes at the wisps of shadows that wavered at the very end of the light beams, Jake felt himself give a start when the shadows _shifted._ “Get down!” Jake yelped, Spud and Trixie practically hitting the ground as the dragon’s wings unfurled and covered the two humans. Shadows shrieked as they swarmed around Jake, sharp claws skidding off of the dragon’s thick scales and tough wing membrane that protected his friends. Snarling at the sudden attack, Jake breathed out a whirl of fire, the hot flames dissolving the attacking shadows.

At the shriek of the last shadow dissipating in the air, there was a brief moment of total darkness. Then, one by one, torches aligning the wall flickered to life, lighting up the entire cavern in a dim glow, revealing the large figure sitting in the middle. Shock raced through Jake as he and his two friends stared up with wide eyes at the figure, unbelieving of who stood before them.

The tall figure grinned at the gobsmacked expressions staring up at him, sharp fangs bared down at them. “Oh come now,” the dark one purred, leaning forward into the light, “Are you all really so surprised to see me? I’m almost offended.”

Jake felt his voice catch in his throat, tongue darting out briefly before he attempted to growl out, “Y-you- you’re supposed to be dead! You went poof!”

“Poof?” the Dark Dragon hummed, looking amused at the other’s wording, “What a childish thing to think. Did you all really think that a ragtag group of weaklings, along with an old, decrepit dragon and a hatchling could take me down forever? Please.” 

“We did it once!” Trixie’s voice yelled out as she popped out from the safety of Jake’s wing, “And we _ain’t_ afraid to do it again _ya’ugly hunk of scales!_ ” 

“What she said!” Spud yelled as well, his head peeking out a little more meekly than Trixie’s, but still with enough confidence to yell at probably the most powerful dragon in existence. Despite the situation at hand, Jake felt pretty dang proud of his friends.

The Dark Dragon did not seem as pleased as Jake, the older dragon’s eyes glaring down at the two humans half hidden by the american dragon. “I have to say, I was hoping that you would have been foolish enough to come alone. These humans have proven to be quiet the little _pests._ ” After those words, Jake’s only clue of what was about to happen was the low rumble in the Dark Dragon’s chest as he pulled his head back with a hissing inhale.

Moving urgently, Jake swept up Spud and Trixie with his front arms, spun around, and booked it out of the cavern, wings flapping rapidly down the tunnel they had just come from. His friends' surprised yells were drowned out by the Dark Dragon’s roaring exhale, flames rushing down the tunnel. Jake flew faster as the rapidly approaching fire licked at the tip of his tail, the heat bearable for a dragon like him- but for his friends, it would be fatal. 

Bursting out into the first, smaller cavern they had been in, Jake didn’t bother to slow down as he gave a sharp turn towards the entrance of the cave, holding the two humans in his grasp tighter so they wouldn’t slip from his maneuvers. With the blazing heat behind him, Jake soared out of the cave’s mouth, his wing tips just clipping the sides. It was just enough to force the dragon off balance, throwing him towards the ground. At the last moment, Jake curled around his friends as they hit the dirt, taking the brunt of the impact with his much more durable form. The trio rolled several feet before skidding to a stop, grass and dirt torn up and leaving a trail from where they now laid. 

Spud and Trixie were quick to crawl out of Jake’s protective grasp, kneeling down next to their friend as the dragon blinked blearily, not bothering to lift his head up until the sky stopped spinning. “Ooo c’mon Jakey! Now is not the time to be taking it easy!” Trixie’s mildly panicked voice sounded in his ears, and Jake could feel her palm rapidly patting his cheek as she kept switching her gaze from the entrance of the cave, back down to Jake as he worked to reorientate himself. “Spud, you getting out that teleportation potion?”

“I’m looking for it!” Spud replied as he dug through the multiple pockets on his vest that he had grabbed earlier, several bottles and odd bits tossed carelessly on the ground from his searching. “Found it!” Spud proclaimed, fumbling slightly with a round, clay potion bottle the size of his palm, a bright red ribbon tied around the neck of it. Gripping the bottle in one hand, Spud popped the cork off with a slight bit of difficulty. 

Before they could use the potion however, a large shape darted down from the sky towards the group and slashed the potion out of Spud’s hand. Spud let out a yelp as he smacked against the ground from the force of air pressure that hit him, the contents of the potion flung out as the clay bottle spun through the air and landed with a crash against the ground, the top half shattering and rendering the teleportation potion useless. The large form that had hit the potion bottle in the first place landed with a thud on the other side of the trio, cutting them off from the forest and effectively trapping them between it and the cave entrance.

Although it was dim, the moonlight was bright enough to show who it was. Forcing himself up unto his feet, Jake let out a huff, feeling less surprised and more annoyed this time, “I thought _you_ were dead as well, _Chang_.” 

The traitor dragon sneered with a look of disgust, “And how foolish you are to think that. None of you even checked, simply thinking that a pitiful pile of rocks would be my downfall. Although,” Chang took a step forward, tail lashing, “It is awfully in character. Stupidity must run in the family deeper than I thought.” 

A low growl rumbled through Jake’s chest at the remark. _No one_ insulted his family, and his already growing annoyance was beginning to reach the tipping point. Crouching low, Jake was about to pounce at Chang when it was cut short with the screeching sound of scales against rock was heard. Twisting his head around at the sound, Jake was met with the sight of the Dark Dragon sliding out of the cave entrance, the dragon’s horns just barely scraping the top of it. 

Now out in the open space, the Dark Dragon looked even bigger, the moon's light bouncing off of dark scales and outlining the towering dragon. He had obviously grown- somehow- since the last time they had fought, and the older dragon seemed to be emitting a vast quantity of dark energy that had only been a soft buzzing aura from before.

Now trapped between two powerful enemies, Jake contemplated just grabbing Spud and Trixie and taking off. Unfortunately, while Jake was certain that he could out fly both Chang and the Dark Dragon, the added weight would slow him down, and the worse thing that could happen was getting taken down in the air. 

Turning to face the Dark Dragon, standing as tall as he could, Jake asked in a low voice, “Spud, Trixie, you guys good with taking on Chang?”

“You know it!” The two crowed, sporting twin grins as they turned towards Chang, the purple dragon baring her teeth at the two humans. That didn’t faze them as Trixie pulled out some of the magical dust that they had used to defeat the former chancellor once before, “Yo Chang, ready to taste the bottom of our shoes again?” With battle cries to rebel against the dragon’s roar, the two raced forward.

Jake wasn’t able to see any more of Spud and Trixie’s fight with Chang as the Dark Dragon made his move. As the larger dragon surged forward, jaws open with jagged teeth, Jake darted out of the way just in time as the jaws snapped down where the other had been just a moment ago. Using the momentum of his dodge, Jake landed hard on the ground before pushing himself up in the air, wings flapping hard to get as high as he could to lead the fight between the two away from his friends. The loud wing beats behind Jake affirmed that his idea had worked. 

Another snap of teeth, way too close in Jake’s opinion, brushed against the tip of his tail. With another powerful flap of his wings- pushing himself higher into the air- Jake twisted his body so that he was looking down at the Dark Dragon and fired off several fireballs at the other dragon’s face before darting off closer to the mountain. Glancing back behind him, Jake grimaced when he realized that all his fireballs did was annoy the Dark Dragon as he was right behind the American Dragon, the scales along his face slightly singed. 

When a streamline of fire was blazed out from the other’s jaws, Jake twisted around the fire in a whirly loop back towards the Dark Dragon, wings flared outward as he went over the larger dragon’s head and onto his shoulders before sinking his teeth against the other’s neck. This time, the Dark Dragon’s roar was a roar of pain as Jake felt the slight tang of blood on his tongue. Unfortunately, his teeth were just barely sharp enough to pierce through the other’s scales, and not enough to actually cause any real harm. Just as the Dark Dragon twisted his head around to snap at Jake, the smaller dragon launched himself off the bigger dragon’s shoulders and flew around him, snapping at the other’s scales before flying away quickly away enough that he wouldn’t get bitten in return.

Jake’s cockiness was his undoing, as he gave a sharp bark of laughter at another failed attempt of the Dark Dragon’s attempt to bite the younger. “Hah! Is that all you _got_ Double D? Cause I am flying circles around you! Maybe we should call you the-” Jake’s mocking was cut off by a yelp as the Dark Dragon suddenly stopped his attempts at biting the american dragon and instead gave a power sweep of his wings downward, his right wing smacking right into the distracted dragon. The force sent Jake careening downward, and the young dragon was just barely able to right himself so that he would glide just along the surface of the forest rather than crash into it. Not that it did much good, as a moment later, the Dark Dragon had crashed down on top of Jake, pinning the smaller dragon down with one clawed hand extremely near where the other fight was taking place.

Squirming against where he is now pinned against the ground, Jake has a pretty good view of how Trixie and Spud were doing. Which… wasn’t all too great at the moment. His friends were holding their own, but he could tell that their movements were sluggish and were having a harder time dodging. And Chang did not seem to be wearing down in the slightest. It seemed that whatever change had happened to the Dark Dragon, had affected the traitor dragon as well- making her stronger and faster. He couldn’t really do anything, being practically squashed against the ground- something he could tell that the Dark Dragon was well aware of- and the larger dragon seemed to be observing the fight before them, a contemplative look on his face. At least he didn’t look like he was going to suddenly breath fire at Jake’s friends at the moment. That meant Jake had time- albeit a limited amount- to think of a way to better the situation. 

Eyes flicking around in an attempt to spot anything useful, Jake spotted something at the corner of his vision and when he focused on it, he realized it was the broken clay bottle that had held the transportation potion laying several feet from his position. He had thought that all the contents had been flung out, but from where he laid, Jake could see a small portion of liquid resting at the bottom. Enough for two humans. 

Determination coursing through his veins, Jake turned his head sharply and bit down as hard as he could on the clawed hand holding him down. The Dark Dragon reared back in surprise and pain, leaving Jake enough room to slither out from the larger dragon’s claws and launch himself towards the bottle. “Spud!” Jake called out, tail wrapping around the bottle as his friend turned towards the voice calling him, “Go ‘long!” With a tense flick of his tail, the bottle shot along the ground, the motion enough to keep the liquid in it. Spud saw the bottle spinning towards him and dove forward, sliding against the ground like a baseball player as he snagged the broken bottle in his hands. Spud fumbled with it for a moment as he quickly stood up, but luckily, none of the liquid seemed to have spilled out of it.

“There’s enough for you and Trixie to get out of here!” Jake yelled, his attention divided between his two battled friends and the Dark Dragon, who had shook the pain out of the bite mark Jake had just given him and was now moving straight towards the american dragon, “Take it and get Grandpa! He’ll know what to do!” 

“But Jake-” Trixie tried to argue back, only to be cut off as Chang attacked, ducking just in time to avoid a dangerous swipe from Chang. Trixie kicked out with her foot, smacking the dragon right on the nose and seeming to stun Chang long enough for Trixie to dash over to where Spud was standing. The two looked like they were going to attempt to rush towards their friend, but a single hard look from Jake- along with the fact that the Dark Dragon was practically on top of the group- culled them enough to drink what was left of the potion. 

“I’ll be fine!” Jack promised as his friends disappeared in a swirl of pink smoke, just in time as a fireball blasted through the empty air where Trixie and Spud had just been moments before. Jake barely had time to feel relieved as he attempted to dodge the Dark Dragon again, but the impact from the ground earlier seemed to have twisted his wing, as when Jake tried to fly again, it had twanged in pain and sent the american dragon back down to the ground where the Dark Dragon easily pinned him down again. Despite being taken down a second time, Jake continued to fight back, trash talking the older dragon all the while, but the Dark Dragon practically ignored Jake as Chang approached the two, an outline of a sneaker printed out against her snout. 

“It seems like we will be needing to move locations,” the Dark Dragon rumbled out, head turned scrutinizingly towards the city of New York, “The humans that got away are most likely contacting Lao Shi as we speak. The chinese dragon will be accompanied by others from Dragon Isle, and as much as I’d like to see their surprise,” the large dragon bared his teeth at that, “It is not yet time to fully show myself. There is still much left of the plan to accomplish.”

“ _Yo_ , what on _earth_ are you talking about?” Jake growled, gaining both of the dragons’ attention as they looked down at him, “None of your other plans have worked out, so why do you think this one is any different?!” 

Amusement curled through the fanged smile that the Dark Dragon gave Jake as he leaned down, almost snout to snout with the younger dragon. Jake’s nose scrunched up in disgust at the other dragon’s breath, but froze as he spoke, “That’s because, this time, we have _you_ American Dragon. _You_ are the pinnacle center of our final plan.”

“Wha-” Jake began, but was cut off as the Dark Dragon gave a nod at Chang. The two dragons took off into the sky, Jake clutched in the clawed hold of the Dark Dragon, unable to get away with his wings pinned as they flew off into the dark night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how short this chapter is! It's sort of exposition for the next big parts that are going to happen next, so you all have that to look forward to!

“Ya’know, this is kinda cliché. Big bad dragon, hiding out in an old, dark castle? Can’t you guys be a little more original?” Jake grumbled from where he slouched in a large cell, bars reinforced with sphinx hair so he couldn’t escape. 

“It’s a _mansion_ ,” Chang growled back, glaring balefully at the younger dragon, "And I can still find ways to keep your mouth shut until my master returns.” Jake simply grunted at that, but stayed quiet in case Chang was true to her word. He had more concerning things to work through, like how- despite being trapped by sphinx hair- he was stuck in his dragon form, unable to turn back into a human no matter how many times he tried. If he had to guess, it was due to the spell he had seen Chang cast when they first arrived at the castle- or ‘mansion’. 

What was weird was that the Dark Dragon didn’t even bother sticking around after they shoved Jake into the cage. The larger dragon had simply disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Jake to deal with a grouchy ex-councillor, who was muttering about having better things to do than babysit the enemy. 

Despite having decided to stay quiet seconds earlier, Jake opened his mouth again and asked, “Why am I here anyway? Last time I interacted with you, you needed my chi. Now that double D is revived, what’s the point in kidnapping me? I thought _you_ wanted to kill me.”

Chang regarded Jake carefully, seeming to mull over her answer- if it was an answer and not a reprimand for talking once again- before she sat up taller and stalked over to the cage. “You will learn soon enough, Jake Long, that my Master’s plans involve your life being spared. If it was up to me, both you and those two foolish humans you call friends would have been killed at that mountain. You are too much of a thorn in the side.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed, “That doesn’t make sense. The Dark Dragon attempted to convince me and Gramps to join before, but as soon as we said no, he didn’t hesitate to try and take us down permanently. Why does he want me alive now?”

“The benefits of keeping you alive outweigh the benefits of you being dead,” a low rumble sounded, and the two dragons turned to see the Dark Dragon slip into the room like a way-too-big shadow, red eyes glittering with satisfaction of whatever he had been doing. “Does living not benefit you as well, American Dragon?”

“Well duh,” Jake growled, already bristling at the sight of his arch enemy, well aware of the disadvantage he was at, “But kidnapping sure doesn’t!” There was a rising heat of anger, but Jake shoved it down even as his tail thrashed around, “So are you gonna explain why I’m here or not?!”

“Alright then,” the Dark Dragon hummed after a beat, turning towards Chang, “Go work on the preparations. I shall call you once I am done here.” 

“Of course Master,” Chang replied back, bowing her head low to the towering dragon and shooting Jake one more brief glare before flying out of the oddly shaped hole in the roof of the castle, leaving Jake alone with the last person- er, dragon- that he wanted to be around. There was a heavy silence between the two dragons, Jake glaring up at the other and refusing to break eye contact to show that he was not intimidated by the evil dragon.

The Dark Dragon observed the bristling dragon before him, amused in the fact that this tiny dragon was trying to intimidate him, but that amusement was mixed in with a sense of disgust, both at himself and at American Dragon. Was this truly his nemesis? Some puny little dragon who hadn’t even reached adulthood? And yet, through impossible means, said dragon had defeated him. Which would never happen again. And he had to make sure that the American Dragon knew this as well.

Moving forward, the Dark Dragon sat down silently a few feet from the cage, his tail curling around it, but not touching the sphinx hair infused metal. “So you wonder why you are not dead yet, do you?” 

“I already answered that,” came the annoyed reply, “Or is your memory fading in your old age?”

A blast of blue, shadow-lined fire hit near the cage, causing Jake to jump in surprise, jaw snapping closed at the look he was given from the older dragon. “If you wish to know, then I’d advise you to keep your smart comments to yourself.” When it seemed like Jake wasn’t going to speak anymore, the Dark Dragon continued, “I plan to take over the magical realm, and overtake the human realm. They have ruled for too long, as weak as they are, and the magical realm has spent too long in hiding. We deserve the right to be on top, not hiding like sewer rats.”

“With you as complete ruler over all?” Jake muttered sourly, unable to stop the comment from slipping out.

The Dark Dragon simply grinned at said comment. “Precisely. A strong rule is needed to keep everything in order- nothing like the weak willed _Dragon Council_.” The name was spat in a coating of venom, disgust evident in his voice. “They should have been taken out a long time ago. Unfortunately, I had not taken into account your grandfather’s fighting spirit, nor the fact that you would inherit that same spirit. Without the two of you, there would have been no chance in the Dragon Council standing against me.” The Dark Dragon lowered his head down to eye level with Jake, “Which is why I have you now.”

Jake shifted uneasily, but forced himself to keep eye contact with the now closer Dark Dragon, “That still doesn’t explain why you’re keeping me alive.”

A dark laugh left the Dark Dragon, the sound chilling Jake’s bones. “Don’t you see, _Jake Long_ , that you are no use to me dead. Your death would only provide the others with a martyr. A reason to continue fighting me. No,” The large dragon lifted his head up again, wings flaring out and blocking most of the natural light from the room, “You will be the key to taking down the Dragon Council. When the time comes, the American Dragon will stand by my side as a loyal follower- _willing or not_ \- and we will _destroy_ the human world.”

*******

From a far ways away, the Chinese Dragon was flying as fast as he could back to New York, his heart in his throat as his mind kept replaying the information that Trixie and Spud had given to him over the phone. The Dark Dragon has Jake. _The Dark Dragon has Jake_. As much as the old dragon wished it wasn’t true, the genuine fear he had heard over the phone could not be faked. And he knew that despite how childish Jake and his friends could be, there was no way they would be joking about this.

From his back, Lao Shi could feel Fu dog clinging to the dragon’s mane, his mutterings too low for the old dragon to hear, but the shar pei’s stress and worry was clear as day. Lao Shi couldn’t blame him, as they neared New York, his own worry continued to grow, enough that it felt like it was going to burst out of the blue dragon’s chest. Every moment wasted meant the longer Jake was in the clutches of the Dark Dragon.

As the electronics shop came into welcome view, Lao Shi parted from the clouds that had kept him hidden and landed quietly on top of the shop’s roof, allowing Fu to jump off of the dragon’s back before transforming back into his human form. They wasted no time entering the building and heading down to where Spud and Trixie were supposed to be.

When Lao Shi and Fu entered the back area of the main shop, their eyes were instantly drawn to where Spud and Trixie were, the two humans completely disheveled with several scratches and forming bruises dotting their skin as the two were waiting nervously.  
“Trixie, Spud-” Lao Shi began, causing the teens to jump in surprise and turned to see the old dragon, their nervousness melting to relief as they hurried over to him. The two opened their mouths, ready to spill all of what had happened to Lao Shi, but he stopped them before they could start with a raised palm, and- although he was already feeling the tension building up inside of him about to burst- spoke in a calm voice, “You both will explain to me what happened, however, I believe it best for us to all sit down. The two of you look ready to fall over at any moment.” As the teens obeyed Lao Shi, the old dragon turned to Fu, “Fu dog, if you would please ready some tea. I believe we _all_ need something to calm our nerves.

“Sure thing,” Fu responded with a nod, and after sending a worried glance over the small group, left the room as Lao Shi sat down across from Spud and Trixie.

“Now, Trixie,” Lao Shi started once settled, “Please tell me everything that has happened since I had taken my leave to Dragon Isle.”

Looking apprehensive at being put on the spotlight, Trixie rubbed the back of her neck as she started, “Well, you see Gramps, Jake knew that all this shadow business had been wearing down on ya’, and he thought that if we just got rid of them, then you wouldn’t be so tired once we started our vacation since we all knew you had been looking forward to it.”

“Yeah, so uh, this is technically Jake’s fault,” Spud cut in, lifting up a finger in point of his words.

“Spud!” Trixie hissed, elbowing the other, “Now is not the time to be pointing fingers!”

“But you said that if Gramps found out- ow!” Spud yelped as Trixie elbowed him in the side again, but the girl got her point across as Spud mimed zipping his lips shut.

“-Anyway, we decided to go to and into the goblin’s mountain- which _stank_ \- and that’s where we meet big, dark, and _ugly._ ” 

“We almost got roasted by him too,” Spud added in, eyeing Trixie’s elbow as he spoke, “But Jake got us out in time. That’s the fastest I’ve ever seen him fly! Except for that one time at the ogre bowl when they were throwing boulders and the oracle twins were there and-”

“Then Chang showed up as soon as we got out of the cave,” Trixie continued as Spud continued mumbling about the oracles’ powers, “We fought Chang while Jake fought double D. As you can see,” she gestured to herself and Spud, “we weren’t doing too hot. There was a teleportation potion, but stuff happened, and we only had enough for me and Spud to get us away. Jake gave us a couple seconds to get away, but-” Trixie trailed off, the two teens looking guilty as they remembered leaving their friend behind.

“Jake stayed behind to keep you two safe,” Lao Shi finished the sentence with a sad nod, hands wrapped around the hot tea cup that Fu had just handed to him, “You should not blame yourselves. Jake had a choice to make, and he took the selfless choice of keeping the ones he cared about safe.” The old dragon sighed as he rubbed a hand against his face, exhaustion of what has happened, and what was to come settling into his bones, “While I am not happy about his decision to go against my instructions to stay away from the mountain, I understand very well that my grandson was simply doing what he thought was right.”

Silence blanketed the gathered occupants of the store, all of them staring down at their tea in thought before Spud spoke up, “So, how are we getting Jake back?”

“ _We?_ ” Lao Shi questioned, raising an eyebrow at the teens across from him.

Trixie let out a scoff, “Uh _duh_ , ‘we’. Did you honestly think me and Spud _wouldn’t_ help get Jake back?”

After a beat of quiet, Lao Shi let out a sigh as he set his tea down, “No, I suppose that you two would want to help. And even if I had said no, you two would have found a way to sneak behind my back to try and get Jake back. I’m not sure if my grandson got that from you two, or if he’s rubbing off on you.” Leaning back while tucking his hands into his sleeves, the old dragon looked intently at the teens, “However, if the two of you are to help get Jake back, then it is only expected that I fill you in completely.”

“What do you mean by completely?”

“What he means,” Fu dog answered, “Is that we and the Dragon Council haven’t been entirely loose lipped about what’s been happening, and what’s about to happen.” 

Knowing that there was no backing out of what he was going to diverge to Jake’s friends, Lao Shi took another careful sip of tea, his expression serious, and then began.

“The reason for our vacation to Hong Kong was not completely for fun and relaxation. During our time there, the legendary Thousand Year Temple was to make its appearance. During the time of its appearance, the world’s dragons gather there for a sacred ceremony. And then, when the moon is at its highest, the temple disappears for another one thousand years.”

“Okay, that’s… cool n’ all, but what’s this got to do with Jake?” Trixie interrupted, as she folded her arms with a frown and tilted her head towards the old dragon. 

“I am getting there,” Lao Shi responded, narrowing his eyes at the teen with a matching frown before continuing, “The Thousand Year Temple isn’t just known for its appearance. The temple itself houses many ancient and powerful artifacts, stored there as a means to make sure that no one uses those artifacts for their own gain. That is also why the ceremony takes place, so that the temple is protected by the dragons gathered so that no one tries to steal from the temple. Which is why I worry that Jake’s fate may lie with what is in the temple.”

Neither teen said anything as they leaned forward at that, staring intently at Lao Shi as he let out a heavy sigh, “While I am not fully aware of what lies in the Temple, there have been legends and rumors of artifacts known to take away the free will of others. As well as many other things that would work in the Dark Dragon's favor if he were to get his claws on them.”

“When you say 'take away the free will of others' do you mean, like… mind control?” Spud questioned, a crease forming between his eyebrows, “Like the kind that Fury and her sisters used on Trixie and those cheerleaders once?” 

Fu was the one to answer Spud’s question, “Similar, yeah, but not precisely the same. While the Gorgon sisters’ mind control is powerful, it has its drawbacks. They can’t constantly be mind controlled, as it drains the gorgon’s powers. Also, as we’ve seen, anyone can get snapped out of it with the right motivation. The mind control that Gramps is talking about goes far beyond that- I’m talking 24/7, complete mind takeover. If that happens to Jake, I’m not sure we can get him back.” The mood in the room dropped even more at those words, looks of helplessness beginning to form on everyone’s faces 

“Which is why we must act fast,” Lao Shi broke the silence with a determined voice as he gave a nod to Fu, standing up with a hand rested in his chin, “We are leaving for Hong Kong in five days, and with the thousand year temple showing up the day after that, we do not have much time to prepare ourselves. Jake's fate is in our hands now.” 

Gathering his thoughts for a minute, Lao Shi instructed, “Fu dog, you will go with Trixie and Spud back to the centaur that Jake had talked to. Try and get more information from them, and if you can’t, then try to see if you can speak to their brother or the goblins. They must have something that can help us in our search for my grandson. And if they can’t, then we need to start looking for ways to track Jake’s location.”

“And what about you?” Trixie asked as she and Spud stood up and stretched, seeming more energized now that there was the beginning of a plan to get Jake back.

“I will speak with the World Dragons of what has happened. They must be informed so that if we cannot get to Jake and the Dark Dragon before the ceremony, then we must be prepared to defend the temple from our enemy. He cannot be allowed to enter the Temple at any cost,” Lao Shi replied, before pinching the bridge of his nose as a more frustrated expression came over his face, “And then… I will speak to my daughter and her family. It is time that they knew what had happened to Jake. _Including Jonathan._ ”


End file.
